Apparatus for weed killing and seed sowing



July 17, 1956 F. w. ROHNERT 2,754,622

APPARATUS FOR WEED KILLING AND SEED SOWING Original Filed April 26, 1949f'l' i g. 1

0 4 0 42 0 o z 2 /f% O 46 //4O 39 g /6' A8 Z2 rounq L/ne INVEN TORFREDERICK WALDO ROHNER T.

MSW

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR WEED KILLING AND SEED SOWINGFrederick Waldo Rohnert, San Benito County, Calif.

Original application April 26, 1949, Serial No. 89,724. Divided and thisapplication September 17, 1951, Serial No. 246,969

3 Claims. (01. 47-1 This invention is directed to weed killing and seedsowing apparatus, as well as to a method by which an area to be plantedmay be freed of contamination of weeds, insects, larvae or the like andthen promptly planted. The present application is a division ofapplication Serial No. 89,724 filed by this applicant on April 26, 1949(now abandoned).

It has been found to be a difiicult problem for graziers and soilconservationists to cultivate beneficial grasses and plants on soilswhich have been overgrazed and in need of cover to prevent erosion andto increase the feed value of the range, both from an economic andefliciency standpoint.

The present invention is directed to apparatus of the type by which theseed to be sown may be deposited without going to the expense ofeliminating any then present plant growth, such as by disking, plowingand the like. The invention is so constituted that the arrangement to beset forth and disclosed provides a ready means to overcome thedetrimental effects of plant growths present at the time it is desiredto commence the sowing operation and still provides for sowing the seedduring the same traverse of the ground area. It is usually necessary, inorder to conserve the soil moisture for the benefit of the beneficialplants to be sown, that the growths covering the land shall be destroyedprior to the time the seeds are actually able to germinate. Were thisnot the case the desired plants would not be able successfully togerminate and reach a mature state because the competition of theundesired plants with those desired is too great. The result is that bymeans of this invention greater efiiciency of the seeding process isobtained.

The invention herein to be described also is such that it will provideapparatus by which the seeds to be sown are placed directly insubstantially undisturbed soil and it is not necessary, therefore, toplow, disk, harrow or the like the complete area to be covered in orderto eliminate competitive and moisture depleting original growths whichotherwise would prevent proper germination of newly planted seeds.According to the invention the apparatus to be disclosed is of such anature that 2,754,622 Patented July 17, 1956 '"ice of more nutritiousplants and grasses is made possible.

The procedure also makes it possible for the forester and the seeds tobe planted are placed beneath the surface of the soil so as to beprotected from birds, insects, small animals, wind, frost, and the likeand insured the receipt of enough moisture to germinate properly.Normally there is usually not enough moisture in the soil otherwise tosustain and insure early growth of much of the seed that is planted.Likewise, many insects and larvae tend to prevent proper seedgermination.

To this end, the apparatus herein to be set forth embodies essentially aprocess of substantially eliminating undesired plant, insect and larvallife and then sowing the seeds and covering with earth before anycontamination thereof can result. The procedure leads to great increasesin the efiiciency of planting and increases the economic yield from thearea through improved quality of forage which can be had from areaswhere sowing seeds sown at the most opportune time.

the soil conservationist to sow perennial plants and grasses which givesoil protection and moisture storing capacity during all seasons of theyear and not merely during the spring growth periods where annualspecies account for most of the growths.

Likewise, according to the present invention provision is made foreliminating the expense of soil preparation on many crops because itbecomes unnecessary especially to treat the land areas where it isdesirable to maintain a soil cover of some sort at all times either byway of growing crops or residues to prevent erosion by wind.

The arrangement is such that during the course of one operation it ispossible to free the ground from any type of pest or plant or animal orinsect life, as well as to reduce weather risks considerably, becausethe seed-s are The time element heretofore required to plow, disk,harrow and drill the seeds under the usually practiced present methodsis reduced to but a single operation. In this way there is no untimelyrelay in order to follow the sequence of steps which otherwise mightresult in many instances, because of wet weather when crops could notproperly be sown following plowing, disking, harrowing and the like.

In its preferred form the invention comprises a mechanism adapted to beattached to traction or locomotive apparatus and moved thereby over theland area to be planted or sown. During the course of this traverse ofthe land area to be sown, provision is made for applying a substance,usually in the form of a liquid, to kill growing but unusable plants,insects, larvae and the like. This deposited substance will forconvenience herein be termed an herbicide, whether it be used actuallyas an herbicide, an insecticide or a larvacide. Upon covering the groundarea within desired regions by the herbicide, a furrow or groove inwhich the seed planting is to occur is cut in the traversed ground byany suitable form of device. There is positioned in close associationwith the furrowing or grooving device a seed planting tube or troughfrom which the seeds are ejected or permitted to fall to the ground inany way desired. Following the operation of planting the seeds in theformed furrows or grooves it is usually desirable to permit apacker-roller to cover the newly planted seeds with loose earth such,for instance, as may be scraped by the packer-roller from the loweredges of the cut furrows or grooves. The seeds so deposited at the loweredges of the cut furrows or grooves are placed beneath the portions ofsoil immediately after the ground is subjected to the influence of theherbicide. Therefore, the newly plan-ted seeds are permitted togerminate before the herbicide can penetrate the earth to the depth ofthe seed planting so they fully germinate uncontaminated by the appliedherbicide, in that the applied material evaporates or is otherwiseprevented from becoming eifective on the new planting.

With the foregoing in mind, it becomes the primary object of thisinvention to provide a new planting apparatus for accomplishing theforegoing results which will make possible the planting of greater areasat considerably reduced costs and insure at the same time a higherpercentage of germination of the planted seeds.

Likewise it is an important objective of this invention to provides waysand means by which new growths can be planted without first eliminatingany present growths upon the land to be so planted.

of Fig. 1 looking down upon it with all of the supporting structureabove the main framework of the device re moved and other portionsomitted for purposes of sim' plification.

In the apparatus set forth by the drawings there is pro: vided a mainframework 11 which is usually of reasonably rigid construction and maybe formed of metal or of rather strong wood or composition material. Inone preferred form of the invention the framework comprises generallylight weight I-bearn pieces which are riveted or bolted together to formthe composite generally boxlike framework designated. The forward end ofthe frame 11 is provided with a yoke 12 and a bar 13 having at one endthereof a coupling or the like 14 which is adapted to couple the coupler15 by means of a pin or the like. The coupler 15 is normally attached tothe rear end of tractive or locomotive apparatus (not shown, but ofwhich the rear framework is illustratively designated by the crossmember 16).

The main framework 11 is supported above the ground by means of thesupport wheels 17 carried upon an. axle 18 which, in turn, is supportedupon the upright 19 that is secured to the framework in any desiredmanner, such, for instance, as by riveting, bolting or the like (notshown). The support wheel 17 may be, and usually is, rubber tired toprovide for ready rolling over the ground to be cultivated. The tiresare of generally wide cross section so that the arrangement does nottend to penetrate deeply into the ground.

Above the main support frame there is a tank, conventionally representedat 19', which contains the herbicide material. This material is usuallyin the nature of -vo1atile oils which tend to sterilize all plant life,insect life, larvae and the like which are touched thereby, but thematerial is such that it will evaporate in the course of a day or two.Generally the applied herbicide will not penetrate into the earth to adepth coinciding with that at which the new seed growths are to beplanted although it is normally of sutficient strength to kill the plantlife which would otherwise choke the growth of the new seeds as theygerminate.

To release the herbicide to the earth there may be contained within thetank 19 or supported upon the framework 11, as desired, a pump or thelike (not shown) to force the liquid from the tank through the pipe 20and to the control valve 21, from whence it falls through the pipe 22and to the adjustable connector 23 and thence from the outlet pipe 24 tothe nozzle 25. In other instances, a gravity feed is adequate.

The nozzle, conventionally represented, is usually in the nature of asupport head serving to spray out the emergent liquid over areas ofground which are determined generally by the pressure at which theherbicide is ejected from the tank 19 and by the elevation of the nozzle25 above the ground so as to permit more or less of the ground area tobe covered. Adjustment of the nozzle or spray head 25 in a verticaldirection is accomplished by a movement of the lever arm 26 which ispivoted at 27 and attaches to a link 28 which, in turn, clamps aroundthe tube 24. Provision is made for holding the lever arm in any of anumber of positions such as by stops, notches or the like (not shown).

In this way, as the machine is drawn forward on the wheels or rollers 17it can be seen that spraying of all traversed ground occurs by virtue ofthe herbicide material being ejected from the nozzle 25.

Practically concurrently with the spraying, the ground so sprayed isparted, grooved, or furrowed by means of the disk elementsconventionally represented ,at 29 and 30 which are carried within theframework 11. The disks are preferably supported by a support arm 31(see Fig. I particularly) carrying the disk supporting axles 32. The.arm 31 is in turn supported upon a frame 33 which is pivoted at 35 tothe support arm or bracket 36. To

regulate the depth to which the disk elements 29 and 30 can be movedbeneath the surface of the earth to cut the grooves or furrows intowhich the new seeds are to be planted, the bracket 36 is adjustable upand down on the framework 11 by means of the position at which bolts 37are fastened in the indicated holes 38. Likewise to give a furtherdegree of control and to more or less spring mount the disk, a bracket40 at the rear end of the apparatus supports a generally bell-crank typeof lever arm 41 carried upon a pivot axle 42. The outer end 43 of thebell-crank lever supports a collar 44 through which a rod 45 passes. Therod 45 has its lower end attached to the disk support framework 33 andits upper end secured by a set screw or the like (not shown) to thecollar 44. A tensioning spring 46 then controls the downward pressure onthe disk elements 29 and 30 in accordance with the position of thebell-crank lever arm 41 to control the groove depth, as desired.

Practically concurrently with the formation of the grooves or furrows itbecomes desirable to apply seed from which the new growth shallgerminate. To this end a hopper 48 is carried upon the framework 11 orsupported from the tank 19 and from this hopper the new seeds are forcedor fall by gravity, as desired, through the pipe or tube or duct 49 fromwhich they emerge at point 50 to fall directly and immediately into thecut furrows or grooves.

A packing roller 51 is supported upon an axle 52 mounted in a frameworkor yoke 53 that is pivotally attached at 54 to the disk supportingframework 33. The packing roller is spring pressed downwardly by meansof a spring 55, conventionally represented as positioned between thesupport yoke 53 and the rear of the framework 33. The tension of thisspring is regulated, as desired, to control the downward pressureexerted upon the packing roller. The packing roller is generally rubbertired and of a width such that it falls into the furrow or groove cut bythe disk elements 29 and 3t) and tends to scrape or move some of thedirt from the lower portions of the cut or groove and thereby promptlycover the newly planted seeds upon their deposition in the earth.

While the arrangement of Fig. 2 shows only two of the several parts ofdisk elements, packing rollers, seed deposition ducts and the like andthe spray nozzles for the herbicide application, it will be understoodthat this showing is merely illustrative and that in normal operationsthe support frame includes a multiplicity of such elements and thesegenerally fill substantially the complete framework. The operation andcontrol of the spraying, the disking, the furrowing, the deposition ofthe seeds and the packing roller pressure is normally controlled by anoperator who is seated at the rear of the framework 11 on a seat whichis not shown for simplicity of illustration. The control of theoperation of the lever 26 to control the elevation of a spray nozzle 25and the positioning of the bell-crank lever 41 to control the depth atwhich the groove or furrow is out are each placed under control of suchan operator.

The arrangement herein shown has been presented in extremely simplifiedform in order to disclose the principles of operation. It is to beunderstood, however, that in practice several seed hoppers may be used;likewise the tank from which the herbicide is forced may be carried uponthe tractive apparatus itself and supplied to the outlet pipe 24 andnozzle or spray head 25 by way of a flexible tube (not shown) withoutchanging in any way the broad principle of the operation. Also, it is tobe understood that in some instances instead of ejecting from individualspray heads or nozzles the volatile spray or oil or the like used tokill the growths or insects may be distributed from outlets in anelongated tubular member which is supplied with the herbicide from thetank in a manner generally like that used to supply the nozzle of sprayhead 25.

In some instances instead of supporting the nozzle or sprayhead 25 inthe manner shown and making its position or elevation relative to earthcontrollable through the movement of the lever arm 26, it occasionallybecomes feasible to support this nozzle or sprayhead directly from theframe 33. Since the frame 33 is pivotally supported on the rod 35, itis, of course, apparent under such circumstances that the sprayhead ornozzle would be moved up or down along with the frame 33. A connectionof this type may be established by providing a flexible connectionbetween the adjustable connector 23 and the point of attachment on theframe 33. The portion of the connection between the frame 33 and thesprayhead or nozzle 25 may be rigid, if desired. This, then, provides anautomatic adjustment of the nozzle or sprayhead with motion of frame 33.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Seed sewer apparatus for use in combination with locomotive apparatusfor drawing it over the ground along a desired planting path, comprisinga supporting frame, support wheels on said frame for rolling it over theground to be planted, a tank mounted on the forward portion of saidframe for holding an herbicidal liquid, a spray nozzle connected to saidtank and positioned to spray said liquid upon the ground over which saidapparatus is drawn, means mounted on said frame behind said spray nozzlefor forming a furrow in the sprayed ground exposing thereby soiluncontaminated by said liquid at the apex and sides of such furrow, aseed hopper carried by said frame, and a duct connected to said hopperand extending beneath said frame and positioned to direct seeds fromsaid hopper onto the uncontaminated soil at the apex of said furrow.

2. Seed sower apparatus for use in combination with locomotive apparatusfor drawing it over the ground along a desired planting path comprisinga supporting frame support wheels on said frame for rolling it over theground to be planted, a tank mounted on the forward portion of saidframe for holding an herbicidal liquid, a spray nozzle connected to saidtank and positioned to spray said liquid upon the ground over which saidapparatus is drawn, means mounted on said frame behind said spray nozzlefor forming a furrow in the sprayed ground exposing thereby soiluncontaminated by said liquid at the apex and sides of such furrow, aseed hopper carried by said frame, a duct connected to said hopper andextending be- 6 neath said frame and positioned to direct seeds fromsaid hopper onto the uncontaminated soil at the apex of said furrow, andmeans mounted on said frame behind said duct for covering seedsdeposited thereby with uncontaminated soil from the sides of saidfurrow.

3. Seed sower apparatus for use in combination with locomotive apparatusfor drawing it over the ground along a desired planting path comprisinga supporting frame, support wheels on said frame for rolling it over theground to be planted, a tank mounted on the forward portion of saidframe for holding an herbicidal liquid, a spray nozzle connected to saidtank and positioned to spray said liquid upon the ground over which saidapparatus is drawn, a pair of furrow-forming discs mounted on said framebehind said nozzle adapted to form in the sprayed ground a furrowexposing at the apex and sides thereof soil uncontaminated by saidliquid, a seed hopper mounted on said frame, and a duct leading fromsaid hopper and terminating between said discs for depositing seed inthe uncontaminated soil of the freshly-formed furrow.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 38,528Allen May 12, 1863 112,169 Nicholes Feb. 28, 1871 205,971 Mast July 16,1878 304,074 Carr Aug. 26, 1884 331,687 Crane Dec. 1, 1885 376,089Harter Jan. 10, 1888 393,390 Patric Nov. 27, 1888 509,856 Allen Dec. 5,1893 987,482 Myers Mar. 21, 1911 1,094,422 Bottom Apr. 28, 19141,474,599 Martin Nov. 20, 1923 1,823,244 White Sept. 15, 1931 2,435,204Davidson Feb. 3, 1948 2,448,265 Kagy Aug. 31, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS262,525 Germany July 14, 1913 OTHER REFERENCES Chemical Abstracts, vol.42, pub. 1948, col. 9041-A, article Effects of Soil Applications

